Assorted Knitting-related Stuff

I got an email from someone asking how the Lady Eleanor Shawl is coming and I had to admit that I haven't done a whole lot on it lately since I have been woring on the new Mermaid Shawl. It is about 1/3 of the way done at this point (left) and is looking good. Actually I decided to try something I read about in another knitting book (don't remember which one) When they were knitting in entrelac and wanted to widen part of it, they just gradually increased the number of stitches in each tier. I thought that sounded like an interesting idea. I was working with 10 stitches in a tier for the first 14 inches so then I added another stitich for a few tiers and another and another until I was up to 13 stitches per tier. I'll keep this up for the center third of the shawl then gradually decrease back down to 10. That way the shawl will have somewhat bowed shape that will wrap around the body more fully but be narrower on the ends. We'll see if that works.


Which brings me to my next project, the shimmer shawl I have been working on (left) forever is finally done! It is beautiful and very light - a great summer shawl. I made it from KnitPick's lovely alpaca and silk yarn called Shimmer in four colors worked by holding two strands of this laceweight yarn together. As you can see it is quite lovely. It is a long rectangle, 28" wide and 80" long with deep fringe and the pattern is very simple - just a simple leaf pattern all the way from one end to the next. The colors are rich jewel tones and will look great in summer.

KnitPicks has come up with a lot of great new summer yarns. I was looking at their catalogue and they have some wonderful new colors in their 100% Pima Cotton Crayon yarn. I was so pleased with the Pink Crayon that I ordered that I placed an order for more of it in the new Azure and the new Periwinkle. They arrived today and they are beautiful. This Pima Cotton is so light and soft it is delicious to work with. It will be perfect for summer sweaters or wraps.




Other than that I have been mostly experimenting with some new yarns and some new patterns. The piece at left is a scarf i have started in an intriguing and unnamed pattern I found in an old knitting book. It is very easy to learn and is going really fast. The yarn I am using for it fabulous --- 100% pure cashmere from Colourmart in Shropshire, England. They buy their cashmere from a cooperative in Wales and it is so soft and beautiful it is hard to believe. Richard, who owns Colourmart, is awfully nice --- I love his emails --- ("dreadfully sorry but I seem to be out of that color at the moment...") and very accommodating. Postage is low and delivery is fast! What's not to like? Their yarn is available on eBay.



It's hard to see the pattern in the sample at left. I have a very old knitting book that calls this pattern Shooting Star but I think it is the very same as the Frost Flowers pattern that is so popular right now. The yarn is the same K1C2 Angora Soft that I am making the Mermaid Shawl II out of but in a bright coral color. I don't know what I'm going to do with it but I wanted to learn that stitch. it looks so complex but once you get the hang of it, it is very pleasant to work on. Since it is worked over 34 stitches, it is good for laceweight yarn. I think I've about got it memorized now.


And this beautiful thing is another of Leslie Wind's gorgeous, hand-made shawl pins. This one is in bronze but she also has it in silver. The back is the double hook closure that I am partial to. She gave it to me last night when we had dinner and I wore it on my original Mermaid Shawl and it looked beautiful. She has several new designs that I intend to photograph and get posted eventually. One is a stunning, long hairpin shaped pin that I love. She is doing such beautiful work with these pins. Visit her web site or email her to find out more!!!

Thanks for reading.